Comparison

Emphasis vs Focus Tomato

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Emphasis

This app helps users achieve deep work by providing customizable focus intervals and ambient soundscapes. It tracks your focus progress and offers personalized statistics to help you reclaim your time from distractions.

Highlights
  • Customizable focus intervals
  • Ambient background sounds
  • Focus-O-Meter for distraction tracking
  • Personalized progress statistics
  • Cloud sync across devices
  • Highly customizable sessions
Features
Read full description

You sit down to work. 40 seconds later, your hand is already reaching for your phone. Familiar? You’re not lazy. Modern life is engineered for distraction, and trying to force yourself to focus through sheer willpower simply doesn't work. Emphasis doesn’t force you to fight your own brain. One tap, a gentle ambient sound, a steady rhythm—and you’re already in a session. Ended a focus block after 12 minutes instead of 25? That’s 12 minutes of deep work you didn't have before. In Emphasis, every minute counts. 4.7 · 20,000+ reviews · Lightweight at just 75 MB Whether you’re navigating an ADHD brain, tackling a heavy study load, or trying to find clarity in a chaotic work week, Emphasis is a sanctuary from the digital noise. We took the science of the Pomodoro technique and turned it into a gentle, intentional rhythm that respects your natural energy levels. DESIGNED FOR YOUR FLOW STATE: * Immersive Sonic Spaces: Silence background distractions with curated ambient soundscapes. From subtle rhythmic pulses to meditative nature tones, create an environment where getting started feels effortless. * The Focus-O-Meter: Awareness is the first step to change. Select the apps that pull you away from your work and watch your Focus-O-Meter rise as you choose presence over the scroll. It’s not about restriction—it’s about reclaiming the time that belongs to you. * Tailored Focus Blueprints: No two brains work the same. Our onboarding learns your workflow needs from the start, letting you fully customize your session lengths and restorative breaks to prevent burnout before it begins. * Progress, Not Perfection: Focus is a practice, not a destination. Use beautiful, minimalist progress charts and calendar stats to recognize your personal patterns of success and celebrate your consistency. * Apple Ecosystem Sync: Your focus journey shouldn't be tied to one desk. Emphasis syncs seamlessly across your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch to keep your rhythm steady wherever you go. At just 75 MB, Emphasis won’t bloat your device, but it will help clear your mind. Join thousands of us who are choosing a kinder, more intentional way to live and work. Download Emphasis today and let’s find your rhythm together. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Focus Tomato

This app helps you stay focused and productive using a modified Pomodoro technique. It guides you through focused work intervals and short breaks, with features to prevent distractions and allow flexibility in your work sessions.

Highlights
  • Goal setting and breaking down tasks
  • 25-minute focus intervals
  • 5-minute rest periods
  • Extended breaks after 4 cycles
  • Flexible timer duration
  • Do Not Disturb mode
  • Integrates with other productivity tools
Features
Read full description

## App Of The Day - Apple ## New Apps We Love - Apple ## Try These Out - Apple ## Student App of the Month - The App Brewery (London) Focus Tomato is a serious tomato helping you stay focused.  Cheer you up when you succeed. —— Recommended consuming order —— Step 1: Goal setting If the goal is too big, break it down. Step 2: only focus for 25 minutes * Only focus on one thing * Avoid distraction; make efforts to keep the Tomato running (ex. if someone hits you up, tell him/her getting back to you shortly!) * Better to watch the timer counting Step 3: Rest for 5 minutes * Not suitable for mental consuming tasks * Light activities that are good for your mind and body * Pause your work momentarily can help you view things from another perspective and avoid couldn't see the forests for the trees.
 Step 4: Repeat 4 times, then take a more extended rest for 15 to 30 minutes Repeat the previous two steps for 4 times, and take a 15 to 30 minutes long rest —— After taking it, you can gain the following benefits on top of straight As ——
 * Prevent distracting and stay focused more easily: counting down timer brings good stress * Reduce interruptions: postpone other tasks; most things can wait for 25 minutes * Avoid procrastinating: when the timer is running, it means the declaration of a focused time frame * Endure longer: with adequate rest, you can run further
 —— Features of “Focus Tomato” —— Based on the Pomodoro method with new spice-ups and improvements. * Do not force stop; keep the flow Classical Promodoro clock asks you to stop working asap when time is up; Focus Tomato only notifies you with sound and does not force you to stop. You can keep staying in the zone and running the timer. * Fractional time is allowed Classical Promodoro clock requires to maintain 25 minutes duration. Focus Tomato freely lets you count the fractional time as long as it starts running. * Modifiable Timeline It is usual to forget to stop the timer. Focus Tomato allows you to modify the Timeline and make adjustments afterward. * Do Not Disturb mode is available Distracted by too many notifications? Do Not Disturb mode can be enabled when Focus Tomato is running. * Integrate smoothly with other work methods and/or apps Because the app only applies the timing part of the Promodoro technique, in addition to the original Promodoro method, you can also use the Reminder, Trello, or physical notebooks along with it. Good tomato, why not eat it?

Screenshots

Emphasis4 screens
Focus Tomato4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Focus Tomato at 4.9 against Emphasis's 4.7. Focus Tomato also leads on review sentiment (95% vs 84%). Emphasis's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Emphasis sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per month and Focus Tomato sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Focus Tomato holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.1K and 1.7K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Emphasis's written reviews are positive against 95% of Focus Tomato's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Emphasis ships an update fortnightly, Focus Tomato monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Emphasis versus Focus Tomato: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmphasisFocus Tomato
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.1K ratings)4.9 (1.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.9% of reviews95.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.1K1.7K — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size73 MB132 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperAleksandr FiodorovCHIH-SHAN LIU

Customer experience

Emphasis

All ratings1,058 ratings
Positive92.6%
Neutral2.2%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews1,108 reviews
Positive83.9%
Neutral6.0%
Negative10.0%

Focus Tomato

All ratings1,674 ratings
Positive98.0%
Neutral1.0%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews221 reviews
Positive95.5%
Neutral1.4%
Negative3.2%

User reviews

Emphasis

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Minimalistic and simple design
  • 👍 Customizable timer settings
  • 💡 Helpful for productivity and focus
  • 🚀 Sleek and intuitive interface
  • 👍 Visually appealing countdown timer

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Subscription model required for full features
  • 🐛 Sync and login issues
  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes after updates
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🐛 Unreliable notifications and alerts

Focus Tomato

From 1.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and lovely design
  • 🙏 Motivational messages
  • 🙌 Customizable focus and break times
  • 🎨 Vintage-style illustrations
  • 🔊 Variety of ambient sounds

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs with sound effects and notifications
  • 🔍 Lack of advanced features like tags or categories
  • 📱 No iPad or Apple Watch support

Bugs and requests

Emphasis

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Timer not working correctly after breaks
  • Task lists not saving properly
  • App crashing on launch for some users
  • Sync issues causing data loss

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to track individual tasks and time spent
  • Landscape mode support
  • Apple Watch app integration
  • More color theme options
  • Improved statistics and progress tracking

Focus Tomato

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Upgrade didn't work as expected
  • Timer stops when switching to other apps

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add a dark mode option
  • Implement a widget for quick access
  • Introduce a leaderboard or progress tracking
  • Allow syncing across devices

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Emphasis

Subscriptions4
  • Emphasis Premium Subscription$3.491 Month
  • Emphasis Premium Subscription$4.991 Month
  • Premium Feature (Yearly Promo)$12.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Emphasis Premium Subscription7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time2
  • Lifetime premium$29.99
  • Lifetime premium$59.99
1 purchases

Focus Tomato

One-time1
  • Tomato King$4.99

Questions

Is Emphasis free?
Emphasis is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Focus Tomato free?
Focus Tomato is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Emphasis or Focus Tomato?
Focus Tomato is rated higher. Emphasis averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while Focus Tomato averages 4.9 from 1.7K ratings.
Do Emphasis or Focus Tomato have ads?
Neither Emphasis nor Focus Tomato shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Emphasis or Focus Tomato?
Emphasis ships an update fortnightly, and Focus Tomato monthly. Most recently, Emphasis was updated on September 19, 2026 and Focus Tomato on September 24, 2026.

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